TURKEY TO PUSH ARMENIA DIPLOMACY IN 3-WAY UN TALKS
By Ibon Villelabeitia

Reuters AlertNet
Sept 10 2008
UK

ANKARA, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Turkey believes Armenia is willing
to discuss its long-running dispute with Azerbaijan and the three
will meet this month at the United Nations in search of a solution,
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday.

The talks are part of a drive by Ankara to end a century of hostilities
with former Soviet Armenia, with which it has no diplomatic relations.

A breakthrough could have huge significance for Turkey’s role as a
regional power, for energy flows from the Caspian Sea and for Western
influence in the South Caucasus region, where Russia and Georgia
fought a short war last month.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of
solidarity with Azerbaijan, a Turkic-speaking ally which was fighting
Armenian-backed separatists over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A solution to that dispute is seen as crucial to any move to establish
diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia.

"We are planning a triple meeting in New York as foreign ministers
of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. We believe this will contribute
to the solution of problems," Babacan told broadcaster NTV.

"We viewed the Armenian side as willing to discuss Azeri-Armenian
problems with us. This is why we proposed a triple meeting," he said.

President Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia
on Saturday, a landmark encounter which officials said could help
restore strained ties between the two countries and boost security
in the Caucasus.

Bilateral relations are haunted by killings of ethnic Armenians at
the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War One. Armenians, backed by
some Western historians, say the killings constituted genocide. Ankara
denies this and says many Turks were killed in the fighting.

Russia’s war with Georgia, which borders Turkey, has added urgency to
the diplomatic drive. Turkey, a transit state for Caspian and Central
Asian oil and gas exports to Europe, was alarmed by the conflict and
wants to play a bigger role in Caucasus security.

Better ties with Armenia could also boost Turkey’s troubled European
Union membership bid.

Gul will hold talks with his Azeri counterpart in Baku on Wednesday
to discuss a Turkish proposal to establish a security and cooperation
platform for the Caucasus and to brief the president on his visit
to Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress